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Wendy Zele, FirstEnergy regional external affairs manager, responds to an inquiry from the audience during a community forum on the future of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. The event was held on Jan. 14 in Perry Village. Listening to Zele's response is Perry Schools Superintendent Jack Thompson.

Future for Perry Nuclear Power Plant hinges on final legislative push | Editorial

Wendy Zele, FirstEnergy regional external affairs manager, responds to an inquiry from the audience during a community forum on the future of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. The event was held on Jan. 14 in Perry Village. Listening to Zele's response is Perry Schools Superintendent Jack Thompson.

About 100 elected officials and residents from the Perry area attended the forum, which was held at the Manchester West building. The audience listened to speakers that included Wendy Zele, FirstEnergy's manager of regional external affairs; Dave Hamilton, site vice president of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in North Perry Village; and Ben Frech, community outreach coordinator for the Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance.

We believe that Zele and Hamilton succeeded in refuting the notion that the closure of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant is only a "Perry problem." Zele relayed facts and figures showing how Perry and Davis-Besse in Oak Harbor Village — also owned by FirstEnergy Solutions and targeted for closing in 2020 — collectively deliver economic benefits reaching far beyond the borders of their communities.

• It has been estimated that the closure of Perry and Davis-Besse would reduce Ohio’s gross domestic product by $510 million annually.

• FirstEnergy Solutions, owner of the plants, spends more than $45 million a year with vendors and suppliers located in Ohio.

• The Perry and Davis-Besse plants pay state and local taxes of more than $30 million annually in Ohio.

Hamilton, meanwhile, spoke about the gaping hole that would be created in the region's employment market if the Perry Nuclear Power Plant closed. The plant employs about 700 workers, with 500 of them residing in Lake County and many others living in neighboring Ashtabula and Geauga counties.

Hamilton said the 31-year-old Perry Nuclear Power Plant has much more time left from a physical perspective, but added that the decision to close the plant was prompted by economic conditions.

Nuclear power plants are struggling to compete with the cost of inexpensive natural gas in a deregulated marketplace.

In hopes of improving the competitive environment for Perry and Davis-Besse, FirstEnergy Solutions and the Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance are hoping to bring about passage of state legislation. However, neither Zele nor Frech offered specifics on Jan. 14 of what the proposed law might look like.

We believe it's likely that the legislation would involve subsidies for nuclear power plants known as "zero emission credits." ZECs are intended to aid nuclear plants by compensating them for providing carbon-free electricity. These subsidies would paid for by adding extra charges to the monthly electric bills of customers in a designated region. That region could encompass a service territory with a nuclear power plant or might be statewide.

In our opinion, FirstEnergy Solutions and Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance face a difficult challenge in trying to persuade Ohio lawmakers to approve legislation calling for zero emission credits for nuclear power plants. Previous attempts to pass similar legislation failed to gain much traction in the Ohio House or Senate.

These proposals also drew opposition from the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, Ohio Consumers Counsel and environmental groups. We predict that these groups would put up another fight if legislation along the same lines is introduced in 2019.

To prevent history from repeating itself, FirstEnergy Solutions and Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance need a strong game plan to overcome anticipated opposition. They must show how keeping the Perry and Davis-Besse Nuclear power plants operating makes sense from an economic and environmental perspective for all Ohioans — and not just residents in the state's northern half.

From our perspective in Lake County, it's clear that the results of this final push for legislative reform will determine whether the Perry Nuclear Power Plant remains a major force in the local economy or becomes a thing of the past.